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Photograph of North Star House
Photograph by Alison Schmidt from Nevada City, Calif, CC BY-SA 2.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

North Star House

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. 13 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1888.

From the record

“North Star House is a mansion located roughly a mile south of Grass Valley, Nevada County, northern California. In 1904, James Hague, president of the North Star Mine, commissioned Julia Morgan, a newly licensed California architect, to design the 11,000 square foot building.”

Wikipedia article North Star House (Grass Valley, California), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 22 National Register listings published here for Nevada County · listed in 2011 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 12075 Old Auburn Rd, Grass Valley, 95949
  • When was it listed? February 2011
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Grass Valley
  • Architect. Julia Morgan
  • National Register reference number. 10001191 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1888 to 1998

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 110 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering North Star House, surveyed 1998
Topographic sheet covering North Star House, surveyed 1888

Fires near this property

897 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 897 fires within 5 miles of North Star House between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,029 acres in total. 15 started naturally. 33 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined354
Debris and open burning215
Equipment and vehicle use161
Misuse of fire by a minor48
Smoking40
Arson/incendiarism33
Power generation/transmission/distribution23
Natural15
Recreation and ceremony7
Other causes1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2019Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitSNMH CRISIS STABILIZATION
9 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionGOLDEN
9 September 2006Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCentral California DistrictTHORNICROFT
9 September 2002Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCentral California DistrictGIBBONEY
9 September 2000Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreCentral California DistrictADAMS
9 September 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitCAREY
8 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 1886
8 September 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitPOPPY

Every fire recorded in Nevada County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 803 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 803 workings within 5 miles of North Star House: 439 past producers, 269 occurrences, 63 unknowns, 17 prospects. 15 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Chromium, Silver, Copper. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Amador Consolidated ClaimsGold, MolybdenumOccurrence
BrunswickGold, Zinc, Lead, Copper, SilverPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite
Bullion ConGold, Lead, TungstenPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Pyrite, Scheelite
Champion LodeGold, Silver, Copper, LeadPast Producer
Crown Point Con. Qtz.Gold, Copper, Silver, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Pyrite
Empire StarGold, Lead, Arsenic, ZincUnknown
Grass Valley DistrictTungsten, GoldProducer1915
Green LodeGold, Lead, SilverPast ProducerUnknown
MountaineerGold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, CopperPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Gold, Pyrite
North StarGold, Stone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence

Every working recorded in Nevada County

Maps showing this location

13 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Mount St. Mary's Academy and Convent1.5 miles1974
Grass Valley Public Library1.6 miles1992
Empire Mine1.8 miles1977
Aaron A. Sargent House5.6 miles1980
Nevada Theatre5.6 miles1973
Nevada City Firehouse No. 25.6 miles1974

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 10001191 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Nevada CountyAll 22 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.